Column: No TDC funds for Cultural Council

Column: No TDC funds for Cultural Council



JOE FINNEGAN
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 02/03/08


There is a movement afoot to divert Tourist Development funds (commonly known as the "Bed Tax") from tourism advertising and marketing to support of the St. Johns Cultural Council. While I, and many others, have tremendous respect for and appreciation of the Cultural Council and its numerous activities and accomplishments, I cannot support the use of Tourist Development Council funds this for organization.

Certainly, local residents have benefited from the diverse activities sponsored by the Cultural Council and the quality of life here has been positively impacted by many of these events.

I believe that this organization should receive some public funding. Just not from the TDC.

Because the Cultural Council has been officially designated by the County Commission as the official Local Arts Agency in the county, then perhaps the commission should provide direct funding from its vast resources.

Please don't raid the bed-tax revenues for this purpose.

All overnight visitors to St. Johns County, who stay at licensed/public lodging facilities, pay a 3 percent bed tax to the county. By state law these funds are designed to be used to market the county to encourage more tourists to visit this destination.

Local tourism, the economic engine that drives this county, depends greatly on the marketing activities supported by the bed tax. If anything, we need to spend more on marketing not less.

Tourism in this county was flat last year, although there was a slight increase in bed-tax revenues due to higher lodging rates. Other Florida destinations have greatly increased their marketing efforts and we need to do the same, if we expect to maintain our current level of tourism.

New hotels, new restaurants, attractions and shops are popping up daily around the county.

Who will support these new/expanding businesses? Without more visitors our economic engine will sputter and stall.

At the last meeting of the TDC, the Cultural Council requested a grant of $220,000 to administer an annual budget of approximately $500,000 of Category II TDC funds.

From a simple business point of view, this doesn't make sense. The concept of TDC funds (bed-tax revenue) being used to provide the basic administrative structure for the Cultural Council is not a good investment to increase tourism in the county.

The fact that this proposal was even on the TDC agenda well after the start of the fiscal year and the fact that the TDC is in the early stages of identifying a consultant to assist with the development of a Destination Master Plan are also at issue.

It would seem that something as significant as turning over the TDC's responsibility for Category II funds should not even be considered until a new Destination Master Plan is in place.

After a well-orchestrated presentation by the Cultural Council, the TDC did not approve their request even though it was vigorously supported by County Commission Chairman Tom Manuel, who also serves as chair of the TDC.

However, this request or some version thereof will probably be submitted to the TDC again.

I think our community and county would be well served if it was not approved.



Joe and Margaret Finnegan own the St. Francis Inn.


Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/020308/opinions_txt01_68.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record